From the start of the 2018/19 campaign, it is looking increasingly likely that Juventus will face the prospect of Gigi Buffon no longer standing between the posts. Almost as synonymous with the club as their famous black and white striped shirts, by the time it’s over, his career will have seen him make almost 700 appearances and win at least 19 major trophies in a tenure that will have spanned a staggering 17 years.
Yet for quite some time the Italy international has insisted he would retire following the 2018 World Cup. “There’s no margin to change my mind because I’m quite convinced of the choices I’ve made,” the man himself told Sky Italia earlier this week. “More than anything else I’m a very calm person in the sense that I don’t worry about the future and what my life could be, I just have to face it, and I’ll face it with enthusiasm, as well as the desire and curiosity to test myself.”
By then he will be 40 years old, and there will be a neat symmetry in finishing his playing days in the same place he made his international debut. Indeed, it is staggering to think that back in 1997 a teenage Buffon helped the Azzurri qualify for the forthcoming World Cup, making his maiden appearance for his country in snowy conditions yet playing with the same calm assuredness we see today.
- Games: 853
- Caps: 173
- Serie A Titles: 10
- World Cups: 1
The legend that is Gigi Buffon will retire at the end of the season.
Back then he was playing for Parma, lifting both the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup as part of an exciting team that thrived during the late 1990s. He would move to Juve in 2001 for a €52 million fee that remains a record sum for a goalkeeper, and has simultaneously gone on to represent Italy 173 times, a major part of the team as they lifted the 2006 World Cup and reached the final of the European Championships in both 2000 and 2012.
All of that is widely known of course, and the incredible standard Buffon has set since he first pulled on the gloves needs no explanation. After all, this is a man who was recently named the 2017 Best Goalkeeper in Europe by UEFA, an award he won for the first time back in 2003, testament to both his longevity as well as the unbelievably consistent excellence which has been a hallmark of his entire career. Yet as much as Juventus will miss his shot-stopping brilliance, confidence and total command of his penalty area, they will miss the man, the leadership and the connection with supporters of all ages.
Whenever they encounter difficulties, it is almost always Buffon who speaks out. When the team needs rallying on the field it is the Captain whose voice can be heard above all others. When they score a goal, the attacking players may rejoice together, but it is the veteran goalkeeper who turns around and pumps his fists, igniting the Curva Sud to celebrate as loudly as possible and push the Old Lady to even greater heights.
Even those who represent Juve’s most heated rivals are united in their admiration for the Bianconeri skipper. Roma skipper Daniele De Rossi recently declared that “what Gigi has done will remain unrepeatable forever” as he reflected on Buffon’s contribution to Italian football, while former Inter star Ronaldo labelled him “the real phenomenon.”
While his past performances and the sheer length of time he has been among the best in the world weigh into people’s opinion of him, he somehow continues to shock new arrivals at Juventus with his quality. “I knew he was good, but I didn’t know he was this good,” former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny recently told The Independent. “Speaking with him and understanding what makes him so great is humbling for me because the level he’s at almost 40 years old is ridiculous!”
And now it’s almost over, with Szczesny looking increasingly likely to be the man who’ll be charged with the unenviable task of replacing a legend. However, there remains one glimmer of hope that the decision to retire may be delayed. “The only way I could do it would be winning the Champions League, then I could say ok, we’ll I’ll try to win the Club World Cup,” Buffon said in that aforementioned interview with Sky Italia.
Who wouldn’t give him that chance?
